Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: LJ Meahl of Fort Dodge shoots aganinst Waterloo East on Friday in the Dodger gym. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

The Waterloo East girls took control immediately and never really got uncomfortable in a 61-39 victory over Fort Dodge here on Friday.

The Trojans (2-3 overall) snapped a recent three-game losing streak to opponents with a combined record of 14-1 so far this season. Ka’Jhira Mhoon did most of the damage with a huge first half, scoring 19 of her 24 points as East jumped ahead 13-1 and never looked back.

“I think we were on our heels a lot against their press and just unsure of ourselves offensively,” FDSH head coach Scott Messerly said. “We had stretches where we got back into it, but again, we’re just not making enough shots. Sometimes it’s really as simple as that.”

The Dodgers (2-4) were cold in all facets, going only 13 of 53 from the field (25 percent) and 4-for-24 from three-point range. Fort Dodge even struggled at the free throw line, making only 9 of 22 attempts.

Mhoon, meanwhile, didn’t miss — literally. She was a perfect 11 of 11 from the floor.

The Dodgers were down 19 in the final minute of the second period, but consecutive three-pointers from freshman Brooklyn Gilliland and senior LJ Maehl to close the half sparked a run that eventually saw the home squad pull within 10 twice in the third on Linnie Pratt foul shots.

East delivered the knockout punch, though, with a 13-5 run over the final five-plus minutes of the third period. Fort Dodge hit a wall, going six-plus minutes without a single bucket to close the third and open the fourth.

Maehl had 18 points and eight rebounds and Gilliland added nine points for the Dodgers.

“We need to find that second scoring option,” Messerly said. “Someone other than LJ has to consistently be a threat. We’ll get there.

“Brooklyn had some looks go in and out. She’s close, but she’s still a freshman so there is a learning curve. Linnie played hard and gave us good minutes. I thought our defense did much better stopping Moon’s dribble penetration in the second half. We are a team that has to be able to press some, but in order to do that, you have to again make shots first. And we just didn’t do that, especially the last quarter and a half or so (Fort Dodge made only two field goals in the final 13 minutes).”

Alayna Henderson — like Moon, a junior — added 15 points. Henderson is the niece of FDSH graduate Lovely (Taylor) Henderson.

Senior Kaelin Knipp contributed 10 and senior Siyanna Cody finished with nine for East.

Moon, Cody and senior Graysyn Downing are all multi-year starters back for the Trojans, and their top three scorers from 2024-25. The Dodgers, meanwhile, had just Maehl and junior Bella Lee as upperclassmen in the lineup with junior guard Ellie Doster sidelined by an injury and junior Maddie Hoshaw still out from last season’s ACL tear.

Hoshaw is slated to return in January.

The Dodgers hit the road next week, traveling to Mason City (2-4) on Tuesday and Marshalltown (6-0) on Friday to close the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule.

WATERLOO EAST 61, FORT DODGE 39

Waterloo East — Ka’Jhira Moon 11-11 2-6 24, Alayna Henderson 5-11 5-9 15, Kaelin Knipp 4-8 2-6 10, Siyanna Cody 2-8 3-5 9, Graysyn Downing 0-3 2-4 2, Neela Phillips 0-2 1-2 1, Taliyah Matthews-Martin 0-1 0-2 0, Faith Sykes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-44 15-34 61.

Fort Dodge — LJ Maehl 6-18 4-6 18, Brooklyn Gilliland 3-10 1-2 9, Malay Hollins 2-7 0-2 4, Bella Lee 1-5 0-0 2, Grace Nichols 0-1 1-2 1, Linnie Pratt 0-3 2-6 2, Emma Lloyd 1-3 0-0 2, Addie Lentsch 0-4 1-2 1, Macy Wills 0-2 0-0 0, Charlotte Breeser 0-0 0-0 0, Adele Seltz 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 13-53 9-22 39.

Quarter scores: East led 18-9, 36-23, 50-32. Three-point goals: East 2-5 (Cody 2-4, Henderson 0-1); Fort Dodge 4-24 (Maehl 2-9, Gilliland 2-6, Lee 0-3, Pratt 0-2, Lloyd 0-2, Wills 0-1, Lenstch 0-1). Turnovers: East 15, Fort Dodge 17. Total fouls: East 24, Fort Dodge 23. Fouled out: Lentsch.